Something Slightly Different

Rating: 7/10 (23 August 2013)

I wasn't quite sure what to expect after watching the trailer for pacific rim. Was this another transformers? Godzilla MK2? Well, it was actually a pleasant surprise in many many ways.
Narrative: Nothing to fault here. The story line is solid and cuts strait to what's important instead of burying us in years of back-story and needless contextual rubbish. Its a pretty strait forward affair with not may surprises it must be said, but the beauty really does lie in the simplicity with which the story is both crafted and told.
Effects: This is my only gripe. I predominately wanted to see this film for the effects, and don't get me wrong they are utterly beautiful at times, but stylistically, its like someone has taken cyberpunk, steam punk, a little bit of blade runner, star wars and some minority report, scattered all that on a table and picked little bits blindfolded to recycle. There are moments of utter utter genius in the concept design that I think we will see cropping up in many a sci-fi from now on, but as a whole, it has no governing style which visually, i found both confusing and a little annoying...
Cast and characters: Not much to say here really. There's not going to be any Oscar nominations but neither are there any terrible scenes. At times some of the main characters feel a little wooden and under-developed, but in a film predominately based on action, its not a huge issue and anything it lacks it soon makes up for elsewhere.
Conclusion: Its worth your money at the cinema, and judging by the press not many have been parting with hard earned cash to see this, which is a real shame. This film has some real intelligence to it which I think earns it a viewing and better press. Imagine everything you hated about transformers, well this is an antidote. From start to finish it is very entertaining and deals with a disaster scenario in a very refreshing manner. If you going to watch anything besides Elysium, I would suggest this. I've given it seven stars, but if this turns out to be the classic it very well could be, I'd imagine most will be giving it 8.